Tag Archives: diaoyu

China and Japan are squabbling over two small uninhabited islands. They can’t even agree on their names–Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese (unsurprisingly there is still another name in Taiwan). These tiny chunks of rock have little value in themselves, though the oil in nearby waters may make this about more than just symbolism and nationalism. Still, symbolism and nationalism are at the beating heart of this conflict. China asserting a protected air zone and claiming sovereignty certainly creates problems. But though China may be over-reacting, it is, nonetheless, reacting to a Japanese provocation and also to considerable history.

The Chinese asserted sovereignty over the islands in the 14th Century, but Japan controlled them from the late 19th Century. We administered them after WWII and returned them to Japan in 1972. The discovery of oil in 1968 made them more interesting to all. However, since they are just off shore from Taiwan/Formosa and, at the time, we were not on good terms with the mainland, it made sense to return them to Japan.

What is generally missed in our media coverage of the current conflict is the great historic enmity between China and Japan. When some Japanese nationalists came ashore on one of the islands and planted a flag a few years ago, this conflict began again to grow. The Chinese considered their actions an insult and provocation, but more crucially, it reminded them of their own suffering under brutal Japanese rule during WWII. It is difficult to over-estimate the animus they hold against the Japanese. Indeed, we can’t understand the intricacies of politics on the Korean Peninsula without remembering Japanese behavior, misbehavior and atrocities during the war.

The recent and growing rise of Japanese nationalism awakens terrible memories on the Asian mainland. Having renegade Japanese nationalists landing and raising flags is one thing, but the increase in nationalism and its growing legitimacy in Japan are very troubling to the Chinese and Koreans. Despite urging from his supporters, Japan’s Prime Minister, Abe, didn’t visit Yasukuni, the controversial nationalist war shrine where some accused war criminals are enshrined. He did however send three offerings in his own name and said he regretted not having visited it when he was Prime Minister in 2007.

There is a seemingly inevitable escalating spiral of conflict. As North Korea becomes more bellicose, Japan becomes more interested in growing its defense forces. As they do (with our encouragement) China reacts by pushing back and asserting its power. South Korea is really caught in the middle, with a hostile neighbor in China, a real enemy in North Korea and an ally whom they distrust and fear in Japan.